


Footsteps (Five moments from Gene Hunt's childhood)

by millygal



Series: Five Things - LoM [5]
Category: Life on Mars (UK)
Genre: 5 Things, 5 Times, Childhood Memories, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 13:22:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10697874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/millygal/pseuds/millygal
Summary: Finding his place...





	Footsteps (Five moments from Gene Hunt's childhood)

I.

Gene Hunt; eight years old, tiny terror with grand ideas too big for one so small, not frightened of the dark but of the things lurking within it. 

He sits, alone and afraid, surrounded by monsters he can't see, "Mum, mum!"

She comes, a light in the dark, chasing away all those ravenous creatures scrabbling around beneath his bed.

"Genie, s'alright luv, just a bad dream, nothing to be afraid of"

The light from the hallway illuminates the tear tracks still damp on his cheeks and he feels too ashamed to let her dry them.

Instead of wrapping himself in her warmth, he slides away under the covers and turns his back.

There's no such things as monsters. Men, real men, know that.

He's big and tough and doesn't need his mother to check behind the wardrobe because they're nothing more than his over active imagination. 

Despite knowing he's too old for cuddles and comfort, he doesn't protest when she leaves the door open a fraction.

  
II.

Gene Hunt; ten years old, barely able to pronounce his own name, whip thin and sun flower blond with eyes like cut glass. 

He stands tall and proud, despite the mountainous man towering above him, "No dad, stop"

Gene's mother, beaten and bruised, reaches out to her son, begs him to keep his mouth shut, "Genie, don't, s'not worth it. I...I'm fine"

Disgusted with her almost as much as he is with him, Gene turns, clenches his fists and beats them against his pajama clad thighs, "You're not fine, ma. He's..he's a b..bully, You always tol' me, gotta stand up to bullies"

He can feel his old man swaying behind him and prays that he'll fall before he has the chance to turn his anger downward. 

"Move!"

" **No** "

"Fine then"

As his father unbuckles his belt and walks forward, Gene knows, one day he'll be big enough, strong enough and possibly wise enough to play him at his own game.

Until then, he'll take what he's given because he's the better man. Even at ten years old, he knows, he'll always **be** the better man.  
  
  
III.  
  


Gene Hunt; twelve years old, finding his feet in a world that keeps shifting beneath them, no longer afraid of the things he can't see but the things he can.

They're picking at him again, he won't be able to find his gym shoes and his shirt's so badly ripped he'll have to sew it up himself before his father sees the damage.

As they all crowd round, kicking and punching and hurling insults, Gene finds himself angry enough to fight back.

Lashing out, ramming an elbow into MacClauglin's stomach, Gene watches him drop and the others back away. They're not used to the guy with the greasy blond hair standing up for himself and it throws them enough for him to make his escape.

He doesn't run far, around a corner, behind a locker and there he waits and watches as MacClauglin's cronies pick him up and dust him off.

"Little shit, wait 'til we see him after school"

"Dunno Mac, that a good idea? He floored you"

MacClauglin sneers, rubs a hand across the bruise forming under his ribs and nods, "P'raps it's time we found ourselves another nobody, What d'ya think fellas?"

"Yea, he never 'ad any lunch money anyways"

They all saunter towards Gene's hiding place and he sinks back, holds his breath until they've passed then goes to retrieve his scattered things.

Talking didn't work, ignoring them never works, maybe he's found a way of keeping the bastards off his back. Despite the fact it saddens him, Gene now knows, the only way to defend himself is to come out fighting.  
  
  
IV.  
  


Gene Hunt; fourteen years old, learning to live in a world that doesn't want him, digging his way through the detritus that keeps piling up around him.

His dad's gone, his mum's barely there and his brother's been snorting enough coke to sink a battle ship and Gene doesn't understand why the people he loves keep finding ways to leave him.

He's tried hard to become someone they can look up to, be proud of, and still they walk away.

It's impossible to tell, what with him being so out of it all the time but Gene thinks his brother might actually want him around. In his more lucid moments, he tells Gene things about the world that Gene finds impossible to believe but he listens because at least someone's talking to him.

It's no better at school. He's no good with books and math just rushes right over his head, so he keeps his nose down and wonders what the hell it is he's supposed to do with his life.

He doesn't want to end up like his dad, too drunk to remember where he lives. He hopes he's not like his mum, so scared that he'll retreat into himself rather than face the things around him. He'll never become his brother, too stoned to see how much he's hurting the people around him.

As his English teacher yells at him for the state of his homework, he zones out, imagines being someone else, just for one day.

What would it be like, to have friends and people that admire him? He sees himself, surrounded by people all clambering for his approval and it makes him smile, earning him another scream for his lack of concentration.

One day, he'll be the guy every one goes to, he'll be the man no one wants to disappoint. He'll have a family of his own and he'll never repeat his mother and father's mistakes. He'll be a good man, not a cowardly or corrupt one.

One day.  
  
  
V.  
  


Gene Hunt; sixteen years old, finished with school, finished with home, finding a way to make himself heard.

After the door knocks and Gene sees his mum let the man in uniform into their home, Gene slips down behind the front room door and listens to their hushed voices.

"But, I haven't seen my husband in two years. Why now?"

"I'm sorry Mrs Hunt, we found him...he was, he's not awake enough to talk to us. You're listed as his emergency number. We thought you might be able to help..."

"I haven't see him, how many times.... I probably wouldn't know him if I fell over him now and he's usually too drunk to know who he's fallen over. What happened?"

Gene presses his ear as close to the wood as possible and tries to make out what's being said but they've lowered their voices too far for him to pick anything up.

He stays there, glued to the door, until he hears movement and springs back up the stairs two at a time.

His mother leads the policeman back to the front door and calls out to him, "Gene! Come down, there's someone here wants a word"

Gene comes down the stairs slowly, as if he hadn't been waiting for her shout, "Yeah, who?"

The policeman's a big man, sturdy and rotund with an air of someone who knows he's to be respected and Gene finds himself automatically standing a little straighter.

"This is PC Jackson, he just wants to know..."

The copper cuts across Gene's mum, shoves his hand out and roughly grasps Gene's fingers, "I jus' wanted to know if ya'd seen ya old man in the last few weeks"

Gene shakes his head, pulls his arm back and looks at his feet, "No, not seen him in years. Why?"

"Oh, he's been found, well, you don't need to know but he's in the hospital. Alcohol poisoning apparently, but we just needed to find out what he'd been doin' previous"

"Can I go see him?"

Gene's mum looks at him like he's grown a second head but keeps her mouth shut.

"Sure, you wanna come with me, I'll drop you there?"

"Th..thanks"

Grabbing his coat from the hook, Gene follows the gruff officer out to his car and wonders what it'd be like to have people look at him the way his mum'd looked at Jackson.

As he rides along in the passenger seat and listens to Jackson swearing his head off at the other cars on the road, Gene finds himself laughing. He likes this guy, he's not sure whether it's the uniform or his easy manner but there's definitely something about him that makes Gene sit up and pay attention.

As they pull up outside the hospital, Jackson doffs his helmet and smiles, "Take care kid, be good ya hear"

"Yes sir"

He's about to slam the door when he finds himself leaning back into the car, "Sir?"

"Yeah?"

"Is it hard work, bein' a copper?"

"Bloody hard, but there ain't a job on earth more satisfyin'"

Smiling, shutting the door, Gene thinks perhaps a bit of hard work's just what he needs. Maybe that'll stop him spinning.   
  
  
  
  
Fin  
  



End file.
